We had some problems with it and I am lucky enough to be in some contact with the designer,

here is his (and final ruling)

Quote:

Philippe Keyaerts24 janvier 2011, 19:11
Re: Catapult
Moved once but may be used more than once.
It is the giant model which actually catapults *troops*. So it can be used to jump over an area. OK, it's silly

I am a little surprised not to see an errata or FAQ under Small World because occasionally there are issues and the rules do not provide a clear path.

We were playing yesterday and the enjoyment was marred by a debate on the powers of the catapult.

1) Can the catapult be used once per turn or can it be placed once per turn and then used to attack any area 1 area away, like catapult is in area A, areas B and C are adjacent and D, E and F are 1 area away from A

A
BC
DEF

So can the catapult add the bonus to 1 attack or all attacks in D, E & F?

2) Can the catapult be used to jump over an area? That is if area A is mine can I jump to area D, E, F without capturing area B or C. It seems silly and on the surface of it the catapult seems to be a straight combat bonus, but we had two sides arguing the different interpretation.

I like to suggest a FAQ or errata to be posted on the Days of Wonder website. I recall the Sorcerers were a constant pain in the first version.

The Kobolds - What happens if you have a single token left at the end of your turn. Can you use it to attempt a reinforced attack (or a berzerking attack)? obviously if it suceeds you cannot hold that territory, but it could be useful to kick an opponent out of a territory.

My guess is no, since you could not hold it, you cannot attempt the attack. But I would like to get on official ruling on this if possible.

For that leftover Kobold token, at the end of your turn, it's true that the rules state you cannot conquer a region with less than 2 tokens. (So obviously Were-, Mercenary & Commando are lackluster combos for the Kobolds.

We play it out using the "Final Conquest" rule. Since it is the Kobolds final conquest, they are entitled to roll the die like everyone else--after all, nobody else has enough tokens to conquer the region on their final conquest either! So this keeps it fair.

Of course it is also required/understood that you MUST redeploy some other Kobold token to that region at the end of your turn.

I think most people are missing the point of your question. You are NOT asking if the Dragon will ALLOW YOUR RACE TO FLY.

When I first got the game I thought that once you placed the dragon you had to move it adjacently (since it's not a race token and since the rules specify that it stays put at the end of your turn, making that region invulnerable to attack.)

I think you are asking what I asked. How do I move the Dragon? Here's the key. (I saw this explanation somewhere over on BGG.) The Dragon is played from your hand. This means it stays put in the region you used it to attack in UNTIL the start of your next turn. Then when you muster your tokens to begin conquests that turn you ALSO summon the Dragon from its place of rest.

Then only the adjacency rule applies. You can't use it to fly/conquer somewhere on the other side of the board; you can only use it to conquer next to one of your regions (not necessarily the region it was in on the previous turn.)

regarding Flying and non-Flying Sorcerers as well as Flying Giants, I just wanted to say that, in my opinion, the official rules have perfect sense on all accounts. Let me elaborate:

In short, Sorcerers have a special ability that allows them to conquer a region by replacing a token with their own if that region is adjacent to one of Sorcerers' regions. So, of course non-Flying Sorcerers cannot use their special ability for the First Conquest, because they don't have a region under their control yet, so no region is adjacent to them, thus they cannot use the ability. On the other hand, Flying Sorcerers can use the special ability for the First Conquest, because "Flying" Special Power explicitly states that you can attack any region and that region doesn't need to be adjacent to one the Sorcerers already occupy. So "Flying" Special Power overrides the part in the Sorcerers' special ability text regarding adjacency. Now, since Flying Sorcerers don't need to have a region under their control and check for adjacency anymore, they can use the special ability even on the First Conquest.

Giants' special ability states that they can conquer any region adjacent to a Mountain region they occupy (at a cost of one less token...). "Flying" doesn't change that in any way. Now, of course Flying Giants can attack any region (just as any flying race, actually), but "Flying" doesn't make all regions adjacent to one another. It just gives you the ability to attack any region. Let's say you control a Mountain with your Flying Giants and you want to attack. Now, simply ask yourself, is the region I'm attacking (physically) adjacent to any Mountains under my control? The answer to this question will also tell you whether you can use the Giants' special ability.

I hope you could understand me, but I too needed some time thinking about this interesting issue.

The Kobolds - What happens if you have a single token left at the end of your turn. Can you use it to attempt a reinforced attack (or a berzerking attack)? obviously if it suceeds you cannot hold that territory, but it could be useful to kick an opponent out of a territory.

My guess is no, since you could not hold it, you cannot attempt the attack. But I would like to get on official ruling on this if possible.

For that leftover Kobold token, at the end of your turn, it's true that the rules state you cannot conquer a region with less than 2 tokens. (So obviously Were-, Mercenary & Commando are lackluster combos for the Kobolds.

We play it out using the "Final Conquest" rule. Since it is the Kobolds final conquest, they are entitled to roll the die like everyone else--after all, nobody else has enough tokens to conquer the region on their final conquest either! So this keeps it fair.

Of course it is also required/understood that you MUST redeploy some other Kobold token to that region at the end of your turn.

Well this sounded great to me, and it makes good sense, but it appears I was wrong, and so I'm going to make it right. Here's an excerpt from a thread over at BoardGameGeek.com, where Eric (from DOW) addresses this same issue:

"Erich"

Uh oh, now that is not the case. You need two RT, no matter what, to conquer a Region with your Kobolds. During the final conquest, you may roll the die to help you get to the number of RT tokens required to conquer the region (say if the total was 3 for instance), but you will still need at least 2 RT (physical, not die pips) to conquer the region.

All active units destroyed
If all your active units are destroyed in one turn you may:
1) Score points only with the in-decline race.
or 2) Go into decline and score 0 for that turn.
You may not take a new combo this turn

clarification request:

If player A has only 3 spaces, with 2 each, in a row, on hills and farms...
I come on with my 16 mounted amazons, and drop 3 amazons on each, and a couple other spaces. He's now got 3 in hand, and no spaces to put them... does he come on from off board on his next turn, or does the above quoth text apply?

A region can be conquered by replacement opponent in one token sorcers the box if we are in one of these situations???

- In the region is a Halfing token + "hole in the ground" piece

- In the region is a token of a certain race + "dragon master" piece

- In the region is a token of a certain race + HEROIC piece

No, the Sorcerer's power does not work on any of those three cases. You'll notice that all three of those special powers say that they allow the race to be "immune to enemy conquests as well as to their racial and special powers".

All active units destroyed
If all your active units are destroyed in one turn you may:
1) Score points only with the in-decline race.
or 2) Go into decline and score 0 for that turn.
You may not take a new combo this turn

clarification request:

If player A has only 3 spaces, with 2 each, in a row, on hills and farms...
I come on with my 16 mounted amazons, and drop 3 amazons on each, and a couple other spaces. He's now got 3 in hand, and no spaces to put them... does he come on from off board on his next turn, or does the above quoth text apply?

The text you quoted applies only if you have absolutely no token left in hand at the beginning of your turn.

In the case you are asking about, the player can try to conquer territories with the 3 tokens he still has in hand if he wishes to.

1) When I play for Halflings, I can put 2 Hole-In-The-Ground in 2 first conquered regions. So if I take in hand ALL of the Halflings race tokens in the begining of my turn, can I start my turn from anywere and use Hole-In-The-Ground again?

2) Can Tritons conquer a lake regions??? There are bubbles going from their noses on a Race banner.

3) When seafiring race goes in decline, what happens with decline race tokens on the lakes? Because Special Power is no longer active for that race.

1) When I play for Halflings, I can put 2 Hole-In-The-Ground in 2 first conquered regions. So if I take in hand ALL of the Halflings race tokens in the begining of my turn, can I start my turn from anywere and use Hole-In-The-Ground again?

2) Can Tritons conquer a lake regions??? There are bubbles going from their noses on a Race banner.

3) When seafiring race goes in decline, what happens with decline race tokens on the lakes? Because Special Power is no longer active for that race.

Thanks.

1. No, the Hole-in-the-Ground tokens are lost as soon as you abandon those territories and don't go back in your hand. Not to say you can't leave the board with your Halflings and reenter somewhere else, but not with the Holes.

2. Their racial power doesn't let them attack the lakes or sea spaces, just attack regions next to those for one less token. Only the race that gets the Seafaring power can attack in the water.

3. Look carefully at the in-decline side of race/power cards. While most racial and special powers do go away when you go into decline, not all of them do. Seafaring stays in effect when you go in decline.

Races
...Ghouls in-decline
Q: With non-spirit Ghouls in decline and Elves as the active race. What sequence for the turn is used if Elves are put into decline?
A: 1. Send Elves into decline (Removing all Ghouls from the board)
2. Score VPs for Elves
There is no attack phase for the in-decline Ghouls because there is only an attack phase in a turn if that turn is spent expanding, not going into decline with a race (your Elves, here).

It seems like the same answer might apply. but the specific mention of "non-spirit" Ghouls, begs the question, "what about spirit Ghouls?"

In the Giants case, it is the adjacency of a Mountain that counts.
Their power is much more linked to terrain than the Sorcerer's.
That would be my line of reasoning.

Regions are only ever adjacent or not adjacent to other regions. what makes a mountain adjacent to another region is exactly the same as what makes a token adjacent to another region. Or, to quote the rule book -

"Each newly conquered Region must be adjacent to (i.e. sharing a border with) a Region already occupied by his active Race tokens," page 4 last paragraph

Obviously only regions have borders and determine adjacency. The fact that one specifies a region with a token, the Sorcerers, and the other specifies a specific region, the Giants, doesn't change this.

However Flying does not negate adjacency. The Flying rule simply says that you can conquer territories that are not adjacent to ones you own.

My interpretation is that Flying Giants can fly to any territory per the Flying rule, however for the Giant to receive the Giant bonus the territory must be adjacent to occupied mountains per the Giant rule.

All active units destroyed
If all your active units are destroyed in one turn you may:
1) Score points only with the in-decline race.
or 2) Go into decline and score 0 for that turn.
You may not take a new combo this turn

clarification request:

If player A has only 3 spaces, with 2 each, in a row, on hills and farms...
I come on with my 16 mounted amazons, and drop 3 amazons on each, and a couple other spaces. He's now got 3 in hand, and no spaces to put them... does he come on from off board on his next turn, or does the above quoth text apply?

I would say that per page 4:
>Enemy Losses & Withdrawals
"If all of a player's Regions were attacked this turn, leaving him with some race tokens in hand but none on the board, he may redeploy these as if he was doing a first conquest, on his next turn."

While it has been quoted from the rules that the special conquest of the sorcerer must target adjacent territories, it seems the intended wording is something like "Sorcerers can only convert race tokens in territories targetable by ordinary conquest."
It seems obvious that the intention with the adjacent-paragraph in the sorcerer description is to avoid the misunderstanding that sorcerer-convertion allows for flying-style targetting, unless they are actually flying.

Of course, this doesn't explain why flying sorcerers can use conversion to enter the board, while normal sorcerers can't.

Where in the rules does it say Flying Sorceror's can use "Sorceror Conversion" to enter the board?

To me the whole Flying Giant Flying Sorceror is very simple.

Flying only allows the player to conquer areas anywhere on the board even ones not adjacent. Flying does not negate or change the definition of adjacent.

regarding Flying and non-Flying Sorcerers as well as Flying Giants, I just wanted to say that, in my opinion, the official rules have perfect sense on all accounts. Let me elaborate:

In short, Sorcerers have a special ability that allows them to conquer a region by replacing a token with their own if that region is adjacent to one of Sorcerers' regions. So, of course non-Flying Sorcerers cannot use their special ability for the First Conquest, because they don't have a region under their control yet, so no region is adjacent to them, thus they cannot use the ability. On the other hand, Flying Sorcerers can use the special ability for the First Conquest, because "Flying" Special Power explicitly states that you can attack any region and that region doesn't need to be adjacent to one the Sorcerers already occupy. So "Flying" Special Power overrides the part in the Sorcerers' special ability text regarding adjacency. Now, since Flying Sorcerers don't need to have a region under their control and check for adjacency anymore, they can use the special ability even on the First Conquest.

Giants' special ability states that they can conquer any region adjacent to a Mountain region they occupy (at a cost of one less token...). "Flying" doesn't change that in any way. Now, of course Flying Giants can attack any region (just as any flying race, actually), but "Flying" doesn't make all regions adjacent to one another. It just gives you the ability to attack any region. Let's say you control a Mountain with your Flying Giants and you want to attack. Now, simply ask yourself, is the region I'm attacking (physically) adjacent to any Mountains under my control? The answer to this question will also tell you whether you can use the Giants' special ability.

I hope you could understand me, but I too needed some time thinking about this interesting issue.

Best regards!

I see no difference between the Giant bonus and the Sorcerer bonus. The rule very simply states the Sorcerer bonus must be used in regions adjacent to one of your Sorcerers. Flying does not change that requirement.

So with Flying Sorceror's and First Conquest - you enter the map in the West Edge on the first conquest, use flying to conquer a territory on the East Edge, then use the Sorceror bonus to conquer a territory next to the East edge territory...and then end your turn.

Quick question re Alchemist: 2 coins at the end of your turn only, or 2 coins at the end of EVERY turn (which is what the rules appear to say)?

If the former, it's kind of a "meh" special power. If the latter - especially in 4 or 5 player games - potentially very (over?) powerful.

Thanks guys.

You get 2 coins at the end of each of your turns...not the end of every turn by all the players. So in your eyes, it sounds like it'll be something of a 'meh' power. But it can come in handy some times with the right race.

Quick question re Alchemist: 2 coins at the end of your turn only, or 2 coins at the end of EVERY turn (which is what the rules appear to say)?

If the former, it's kind of a "meh" special power. If the latter - especially in 4 or 5 player games - potentially very (over?) powerful.

Thanks guys.

You get 2 coins at the end of each of your turns...not the end of every turn by all the players. So in your eyes, it sounds like it'll be something of a 'meh' power. But it can come in handy some times with the right race.

Thanks for such a quick response Ras - it makes more sense as you describe.

And you are quite right, the more I play the more I realise how many powers and races I think are "meh" come back and bite me

Thanks for such a quick response Ras - it makes more sense as you describe.

And you are quite right, the more I play the more I realise how many powers and races I think are "meh" come back and bite me

(Even dwarves)

That's the beauty of this game! The right race and power combo at the right time can do really well but might be almost useless in the next game. Small World has such great replay value because of this!

Me and a friend was arguing about the 1+ Victory point.
Do you get 1 victory point per fortified, or only from the one you placed this turn? Meaning if you got 3x fortified and place a new one that round, will you get 4 or only 1 extra victory point that round?

Me and a friend was arguing about the 1+ Victory point.
Do you get 1 victory point per fortified, or only from the one you placed this turn? Meaning if you got 3x fortified and place a new one that round, will you get 4 or only 1 extra victory point that round?

You add the +1 bonus each time you add a Fort, so in your example you would get 4 extra coins for having 4 fortresses on the board.

Does anyone know...is the very first post on this thread up to date with all of the questions and answers so far? Do people have to search through this whole thread to find the answers they need, or can they just read the huge first post?

I know that Antoine has been good about updating the first post (going in and editing his original list of Questions and Answers) but I wasn't sure if that was happening for this thread as well. Thanks for any information people can offer.